Asteroids

Credit: Solarseven / Shutterstock Earth is the only planet we know of with continents, the giant landmasses that provide homes to humankind and most of Earth's biomass. However, we…

The DART spacecraft’s collision with its target may leave the asteroid unrecognizable, rather than just a minor crater.University of Bern researchers simulate planetary defense.The world’s first comprehensive planetary defense test against potential asteroid impacts on Earth is being conducted by NASA as part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) project. Researchers from the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS have now shown that the impact of the DART spacecraft…

Sabina Raducan has the kind of job you’d expect the protagonist in a 1990s Michael Bay movie to hold. In The Rock, Nicolas Cage’s Dr. Stanley Goodspeed is an FBI chemical weapons specialist who helps save the day. In Armageddon, Bruce Willis’ Harry Stamper is a veteran oil driller who helps save the day. And at the University of Bern, one of the largest universities in Switzerland, Sabina Raducan builds hyper-realistic models of asteroid impacts. Which could one day help save, well, our entire planet. To be clear,…

Two skyscraper-size asteroids are zooming toward Earth this weekend, with one making its closest approach on Friday (29 July) and the second whizzing by on Saturday (30 July).The first asteroid, dubbed 2016 CZ31, will fly by around 7 pm ET (23:00 GMT) on Friday, whizzing at an estimated 34,560 mph (55,618 km/h, according to NASA.  Astronomers estimate that the asteroid measures about 400 feet (122 meters) across at its widest point, making it about as wide as a 40-story building is tall. The asteroid will safely miss our…

NASA and the Psyche team declined interview requests until an independent review of the mission delay has been completed. Agency officials will make a decision about next steps based on that review in the coming months, said Lori Glaze, head of NASA’s planetary science division, at last month’s press conference. But WIRED spoke with other experts about options for sending a probe deep into the solar system, even if you can’t whip it past Mars.Parker, for example, thinks it might be feasible for Psyche to reach its…

For decades, the standard way to search for asteroids in our Solar System has been to scan the night sky for fast-moving specks of light — but a new method of hunting for these space rocks at twilight is also proving fruitful. It’s much harder to pull off, but by scanning parts of the sky at dusk, astronomers have been able to find key asteroids they wouldn’t have seen otherwise. The two largest asteroid finders at the moment are the Pan-STARRS observatory out of Hawaii and the Catalina Sky Survey, which operates…

By Rani C. Gran, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center July 24, 2022This mosaic of asteroid Bennu was created using observations made by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft that was in close proximity to the asteroid for over two years. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of ArizonaRecently, scientists from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission discovered that surface regeneration occurs on asteroids far more quickly than on Earth. By analyzing high-resolution images of rock fractures on asteroid Bennu taken by the <span…

Astronomers say that a bunch of asteroids could hide in the Sun’s glare. These near-Earth asteroids would most likely be objects we’ve never detected, as most telescope systems look outward from our Solar System. Recent surveys have revealed never-before-seen asteroids hiding near Venus and other planets in our Solar System. Astronomers found never-before-seen asteroids hiding in the Sun’s glare Image source: lukszczepanski/AdobeFinding never-before-seen asteroids hiding out near Earth isn’t surprising.…

Due to the harsh glare of the Sun, astronomers, while searching for asteroids in space, point their telescopes away from the centre of the solar system. Most of the asteroid surveys are conducted at night and tend to scan the region beyond Earth's orbit for asteroids. A new study proposes that this method creates a blind spot and many of the near-Earth objects, which could be lurking in direct view of the sunlight from Earth, leaving them out of previous surveys.While the conventional asteroid surveys might have missed…

The Sun's glare is the main reason telescopes tend to look outwards from Earth, away from the center of our Solar System. New research reveals that for telescopic surveys prepared to peer in the other direction, there's lots to be found.  In particular, recent surveys are revealing near-Earth objects or NEOs, including asteroids we've never seen before. When it comes to understanding Solar System history and planet formation, finding and tracking these asteroids could be crucial.Astronomer Scott Sheppard, from the…